'India wants a Jan Lokpal bill, not a yatra'

Anna Hazare will write to PM

Activist Anna Hazare will soon write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking his views on having an annual performance audit of the Members of Parliament.

"In the letter, Anna would be asking the PM whether he thinks there should be an annual performance audit of MPs. On the basis of this, people should have the right to recall elected representatives," Team Anna core committee member Arvind Kejriwal told reporters in Ralegan Siddhi.

"Hazare also wants to know the PM's views on having a 'none of the above' button on ballot papers. If majority of voters prefer that option, there should be a provision to reject the candidate," he said.

'India wants a Jan Lokpal bill, not a yatra'

Asked about their response if the PM does not reply to the letter, Kejriwal said, "Let us write the letter first".

Asked about Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani's announcement of a country-wide yatra against corruption, Kejriwal made light of it, saying, "The country wants a Jan Lokpal bill, not a yatra."

On National Advisory Committee member Aruna Roy, who has been critical of Hazare's agitation for the Jan Lokpal bill, Kejriwal said, "What she is saying is against the law and Constitution."

"Aruna Roy alleges that we do not discuss (these issues) with her. What she is saying is not right. We have tried a lot to talk to her but she is not ready to talk to us. Let Roy and her team come on an open stage. We are ready to talk," he said.

Team Anna meets at Ralegan Siddhi

Key members of Team Anna -- including Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Santosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Manish Sisodia -- attended the meeting in Ralegan Siddhi. The two-day brainstorming session, the first formal engagement of the group after Hazare's fast in August, would conclude on Sunday.

Eminent lawyer Prashant Bhushan said it is essential that there should be no land acquisition without the nod of the gram sabha. "There are larger issues like participatory democracy, which would be discussed in detail," he said.

Image: A poster in support of Anna HazarePhotographs: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

Jan Lokpal Bill 'within the Constitution'

Bedi said no one can attribute a motive to Hazare except that of national interest. "He does not have a hidden agenda," she said.

"We have to see if each of the 31 members of the Standing Committee (of Parliament looking at different shades of opinion on the anti-corruption ombudsman) speaks for the common man or heeds to their respective party high commands whose interests lie elsewhere," she said.

Social activist Medha Patkar claimed the Jan Lokpal Bill draft of Team Anna is "within the Constitution".